Pelosi narrowly re-elected speaker, faces difficult two years

It was a narrow victory in a House that Democrats re-took with a vastly reduced majority.

US Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi was re-elected on Sunday for a fourth term to the position that is just second removed from the presidency.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi waves a gavel during the first session of the 117th Congress in the House Chamber at the US Capitol on January 3. (AFP)

It was a narrow victory in a House that Democrats re-took with a vastly reduced majority.

Pelosi, who has led her party in the House since 2003 and is the only woman to be speaker, received 216 votes to 209 for Kevin McCarthy, the top Republican, who again will be the chamber’s minority leader.

“As we are sworn in today, we accept a responsibility as daunting and demanding as any previous generation of leadership have ever faced,” Pelosi, 80, said in a statement referring to the swearing-in of the 117th Congress.

“We begin this new Congress during a time of extraordinary difficulty. Each of our communities has been drastically, drastically affected by the pandemic and its economic crisis: 350,000 tragic deaths, we sadly carry them in our hearts; over 20 million infections; millions without jobs – a toll beyond comprehension.”